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    A Little A Few

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    Maksim Plebejac
    Little and few are quantifiers meaning 'some' but with negative connotations, implying 'not much'. Little is used with uncountable nouns and few with plural countable nouns. A little and a few can also be used as pronouns to substitute for a noun. A little is also used as an adverb to modify verbs or adjectives in a more formal way. Little can also be used as an adjective meaning 'small'.

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    A Little A Few

    Uploaded by

    Maksim Plebejac
    46 views3 pages
    Little and few are quantifiers meaning 'some' but with negative connotations, implying 'not much'. Little is used with uncountable nouns and few with plural countable nouns. A little and a few can also be used as pronouns to substitute for a noun. A little is also used as an adverb to modify verbs or adjectives in a more formal way. Little can also be used as an adjective meaning 'small'.

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    A little a few

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    A little a few

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    Little and few are quantifiers meaning 'some' but with negative connotations, implying 'not much'. Little is used with uncountable nouns and few with plural countable nouns. A little and a few can also be used as pronouns to substitute for a noun. A little is also used as an adverb to modify verbs or adjectives in a more formal way. Little can also be used as an adjective meaning 'small'.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    46 views3 pages

    A Little A Few

    Uploaded by

    Maksim Plebejac
    Little and few are quantifiers meaning 'some' but with negative connotations, implying 'not much'. Little is used with uncountable nouns and few with plural countable nouns. A little and a few can also be used as pronouns to substitute for a noun. A little is also used as an adverb to modify verbs or adjectives in a more formal way. Little can also be used as an adjective meaning 'small'.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    Little, a little, few, a few

     
    Grammar > Nouns, pronouns and determiners > Quantifiers > Little, a little, few, a
    few
    from English Grammar Today
    (A) little and (a) few are quantifiers meaning ‘some’. Little and few have negative meanings.
    We use them to mean ‘not as much as may be expected or wished for’.
    Compare
    All she wanted was a few moments on her
    own. some, a small number

    She had  few  moments on her own. not many/almost none

    She saves a little money every month. some, a small amount

    They had  little money to spend. not much/almost nothing

    A:
    Have you got any money?
    some, a small amount
    B:
    Yes, a little.

    A:
    Have you got any money?
    not much/almost nothing
    B:
    No, very little.

    A little, a few with a noun


    We use a little with singular uncountable nouns. We use a few with plural countable nouns:
    Mary said nothing, but she drank some tea and ate a little bread.
    We stayed  a few  days in Florence and visited the museums.
    See also:
     Nouns: countable and uncountable

    Little, few with a noun


    We use little with uncountable nouns. We use few with plural countable nouns. They are used
    in formal contexts:
    I’m not very happy about it but I suppose I have little choice.
    Few cities anywhere in Europe can match the cultural richness of Berlin.
    [talking about a period of history]
    At that time  few  people travelled who didn’t have to.

    (A) little, (a) few without a noun


    We can use (a) little and (a) few as pronouns. We can use them to substitute for a noun when
    it is obvious from the context:
    After that, she began to tell them a little about her life in Scotland, particularly her life with
    the Rosenblooms.
    Don’t take all the strawberries. Just have a few. (Just have a few strawberries.)
    Little and few are not very common without a noun. We use them in formal contexts:
    Little  is known about his upbringing and education.
    Few would be in favour of police officers carrying weapons.
    See also:
     Determiners followed by pronouns
     Determiners and singular countable nouns
     Determiners and singular countable or uncountable nouns
     Substitution

    (A) little of, (a) few of


    We use of with (a) little and (a) few when they come before articles (a/an, the),
    demonstratives (this, that), possessives (my, your) or pronouns (him, them):
    Put the flour into a bowl, blend with  a little of the milk, beat in the egg yolks, then the sugar
    and the rest of the milk.
    A few of his films were seen abroad.

    A little: adverb
    We use a little as an adverb of degree. It is more formal than a bit:
    He smiled just a little.
    Her hands were shaking a little.
    See also:
     A bit
     Adverbs

    A little with adjectives, determiners, adverbs


    We use a little before adjectives and adverbs to modify them. It is more formal than a bit:
    She seemed to be getting  a little better.
    What you need is a little more romance.
    We often use a little with bit:
    I find that a little  bit hard to believe.
    See also:
     A bit
     Much, many, a lot of, lots of: quantifiers

    Little: adjective
    We use little as an adjective to mean ‘small’:
    ‘You’re going to have a  little baby brother, Martha,’ her mother told her one day.
    I know a little  restaurant not far from here.

    Little or small?
    Little and small have similar meanings. We use small to refer only to size. We use little to
    refer to size, but also to express a positive emotion (especially with words like beautiful,
    lovely, wonderful):
    He’s a small baby. (He’s smaller than average.)
    He’s a lovely little baby. (He’s lovely and small.)
    There’s a wonderful little café a the end of the street. (preferred to: There’s a wonderful
    small café at the end of the street.)

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